Wrecked Today : ss BENGALbuilt by Tod & McGregor Glasgow, Yard No 67 Engines by ShipbuildersPort of Registry: LondonPropulsion: Two cylinder, beam geared steam engine, 1084ihp, single screw, 10 knotsLaunched: Saturday, 30 October 1852Built: 1853Ship Type: Passenger Liner, Iron hullShip's Role: Calcutta/Suez serviceTonnage: 2185 gross; 1176 netLength: 295ft 10inBreadth: 38ft 3inOwner History:Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation CompanyStatus: Wrecked - 02/03/1885, JavaRemarks:30/10/1852: Launched.
16/01/1853: Arrived at Southampton from her builders.
05/02/1853: Registered. She cost £70,000 and was briefly the largest P&O ship. An innovation was the fitting of a speaking tube between the bridge
and the engine room.
16/02/1853: The Admiralty informed P&O that BENGAL had failed to reach the
speed required for the mail contract, which was presumably rectified.
20/02/1853: Maiden voyage Southampton/Alexandria, the first of four Mediterranean voyages. Set a new record of 4 days 5 hours for the
run to Gibraltar.
09/1853: Sent out round the Cape to Calcutta. Two lifeboats were washed
overboard and later found at Weymouth, causing consternation until
she reported safe.
26/06/1854: Captured the Russian barque IDEALET in Madras Roads, sent her
crew ashore and towed her into port. Despite the Crimean War, the incident was of questionable legality, and the Authorities in Madras released the captured vessel.
08/02/1855: Towed a steamer into Suez.
29/05/1859: Stopped engines 3 days out of Aden for Galle when nearly all the
teeth were stripped from a large driving wheel. Presumably continued under sail while repairs were made.
06/06/1859: Machinery restarted.
07/06/1859: Driven ashore at Galle when the pilot elected to shift anchorage.
She continued under steam to minimise leaks while the passengers, mails and specie were landed (they were picked up by GANGES), and then made her way via Trincomalee and Madras to Calcutta (arrived 15/06) for repairs.
04/07/1859: Reentered service.
12/12/1863: Broke shaft between Suez and Aden.
17/12/1863: Arrived in Aden under tow by SULTAN. Remained at Aden until 13/02/ 1864.
10/10/1864: Driven ashore into the garden of Bishop’s College, Calcutta, during a cyclone.
30/12/1864: Refloated after a channel had been cut between the garden and the
river.
1868: Served as a troopship during the Abyssinian War.
19/07/1870: Sold to Edward Bates, Liverpool.
1872: Sold to C W Kellock, Liverpool, and fitted with compound engines by
Laird Brothers, Birkenhead.
1874: Sold to E M de Bussche, Ryde, Isle of Wight, as trustee for a new
company.
04/1876: Registered under that company, The New York, London and China
Steam Ship Co Ltd, London.
1876: Trooped India/Mediterranean during the Near East crisis.
1881/1882: Three voyages UK/Australia for the Colonial Line.
1884: Sold to Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell and Co, London.
02/03/1885: Wrecked off Milton Reef, Bawcan Island, Java, when on passage
from Saigon to Sourabaya with a cargo of rice.

Previous updates by Paul Strathdee and Bruce Biddulph.

Last updated: by John Newth from the original records by Stuart Cameron

Last updated: by Paul Strathdee from the original records by Stuart Cameron

Torpedoed & Sunk Today 1941: ss TORREYbuilt by A McMillan & Son Dumbarton, Yard No 480 Engines by J. G. Kincaid & Co. LtdLast Name: AUGVALD (1923)Propulsion: steam, triple expansion, 436 nhpBuilt: 1920Ship Type: Cargo VesselTonnage: 4811 tonsLength: 400.6 feetBreadth: 52.6 feetDraught: 25.7 feetOwner History:Heistein & Sons A. I. Langfeldt Kristiansand (1922) H. M. Wrangell & Co. AS (1923) Skibs-AS Corona (1929)Status: Torpedoed & Sunk - 02/03/1941Remarks: Torpedoed 155 miles northwest of the Hebrides with the loss of 29 men, within that number included two British mess boys aged 14 and 16. The lone survivor Rasmus Kolstø was picked up on a raft 11 days after the sinking. When landed at Greenock he had to have one of his toes amputated. Due to the heavy bombings in Greenock he was moved to Glasgow's Mearnskirk Hospital.

Last updated: by Bruce Biddulph from the original records by Stuart Cameron

Last updated: by Stuart Cameron from the original records by Stuart Cameron

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